Double Dilema
by themodernteen
Summary: Meredith pairs with Arizona for a 16-year-old patient, Angela, with a massive tumor in her stomach lining. But, Angela is a twin. The two girls are inseparable, but Nancy must see her twin sister deteriorate more and more as the days go by. Her condition worsens, but things get even stranger as Dr. Grey battles her own ethics when Angela pleads with Meredith to let her die.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a Grey's Anatomy fic! Hope you guys enjoy it, there's a chilling end! Leave me a fav/follow/review!**

"What a day." Meredith puffed as she slumped her head against the wall. Christina thrust a coffee into her hands and she took it gratefully.

"Tell me about it," her best friend rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her own coffee, "I mean, Bailey has me slammed with surgeries all afternoon."

"Weber wants me to take on a pro-bono later, but I don't know if I've got it in me."

"Then don't take it," Christina shrugged.

"I could already imagine his face and the years he'll hold against me if I don't," Meredith shook her head, "I have to, I just wish something interesting came along. It's as if the city's been dead the last few weeks."

"You want an emergency situation to occur? Where hundreds are affected by carnage and destruction?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm," Christina smirked, "you sound more and more like me everyday."

Meredith jumped when her pager beeped. She fished it out of her pocket and gave it a quick glance, "Sorry, got to go. Arizona's paging me."

"Peds?"

"Yeah, I guess. Consult," she chugged the rest of her coffee, "See ya!"

"Bye," Yang lifted her cup in the air in a cheer as Meredith rushed out.

"You paged?" Meredith walked into a room in the pediatrics wing. She hadn't been down this way often, and she saw Arizona standing by a bed with a young girl laying in it. She had long dark hair and very, very pale complexion. Her bones jutted out of her paper thin skin and her eyes were weighed down by heavy, purple bags. She smiled weakly as Meredith walked in.

"Dr. Grey," she dipped her head, "thanks for coming. This," she gestured to the young girl, "is Angela."

"Hi," Angela gave a small wave.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Grey," Meredith smiled then turned back to Arizona, "what's the issue?"

"Well, Angela here was diagnosed with Menetrier Disease in 2013 and although we prescribed medicine as treatment, her condition was quite severe-"

"And she contacted gastric cancer," Meredith sighed sadly. This young girl barely 16 years old already had horrible medical scares, "can I see the file?"

Arizona handed her the medical file, trying to keep up a smile as Meredith took it. She opened it with careful fingers and examined the forms.

"In 2014 she was previously diagnosed with stage two gastric cancer, but now it's relapsed I presume?" Arizona nodded in confirmation.

"Tumor right in the lining there," Meredith pointed with her index finger at the scan, "Wow, a pretty big one. I can try to remove it through surgery."

"Are you sure?"

Meredith felt taken aback. She looked up at Arizona with a hard glare. Was she questioning her skill? When she met her eyes, they looked fearful.

"Angela," Meredith put on a big smile and looked down at the young girl, "we're just gonna go talk outside, okay? You're doing great, I'll have the nurses bring you some juice."

"Okay, no problem," Angela nodded and watched as both doctors retreated outside.

Meredith heard Arizona sigh as she turned on her.

"What the heck was that? You don't think I can do it?"

"No, no it's not that," Arizona conceded, "it's just-her family is complicated."

"They all are."

"But this one's different." "How?" "She has a twin sister."

"What?"

"Her twin sister, Nancy. She doesn't know Angela's cancer's returned, and it's not stage two anymore but stage three. Last time, Dr. Weber performed the surgery, and we lost her on the table twice. I don't know if the family will be up for it."

"Gastric cancer is serious, and the symptoms are brutal. I've got to do the surgery, it's better than leaving her no chance sitting in that bed."

Arizona shifted her stance, still unsure.

"Arizona," Meredith said carefully, "she will surely die if I leave her on that hospital bed."

"Okay, okay," she dipped her head, "I'll go talk to the family."

"Great," Dr. Grey beamed, "please have one of the interns fetch me some fresh scans."

"Got it, and thank you, Meredith," Arizona departed, leaving her friend to walk back to her own familiar hospital wing.

"What was the consult?"

At lunch that day, Meredith, Alex, Christina, and Jackson sat at the table eating their own meals. Meredith was thinking about her new gastric cancer patient all day and what the whole deal was with the twin. Why didn't she know? It's her twin, shouldn't she know?

"Mer," Christina elbowed her lightly.

"Huh?" she looked up, about to take a bite of her salad and lost in deep thought. She didn't hear Alex's question, "What did you say?"

"What was the consult?" Alex repeated with a smile.

"Gastric cancer patient," she picked at her greens with her fork, "working with Arizona on this one. 16 year old girl with a big, fat tumor stuck right in her stomach lining."

"Are her chances good?" Jackson's electric blue eyes stared her down.

"I can handle it," she nodded, "she'll be fine."

"Unless you mess up," Alex smirked devilishly.

"Hey," Christina elbowed him playfully, "bet you a sandwich that she removes the tumor endoscopically."

"You're on," he laughed, shaking her hand.

"Don't let me down, Mer," Christina gave her a stern look, "you know how much I like those sandwiches."

"I've got it, trust me," she laughed along and Jackson smiled warmly.

She couldn't wait to get home, take off her shoes, and sit in front of the TV with Derek to watch a movie. Angela's surgery was scheduled for two days from now and one of the interns promised the new scans on her desk by the end of the day. After lunch, she had a few more patient follow ups and post ops, but it was nothing big. Derek promised her a drink at Joe's later tonight and her heart fluttered, she couldn't wait. The sky was beginning to darken, the skyscrapers reflecting the red-orange sunset as the day started winding down. She almost forgot Arizona's patient, until she rummaged through her inbox and saw the new scans. The young Angela crossed her mind again and the secrecy within the family. This didn't seem like the normal "don't ask, don't tell" where the family spared the children from the harsh news. This was her twin. Nancy and Angela grew up together, did everything together, how could they keep it a secret? She'd find that out later, maybe she'd stop by quickly before she signed off for the day and pay Angela a visit. "Hey, Angela," Meredith knocked on the door quietly as some kids on the pediatrics floor were asleep.

Although the room was dimly lit, Angela was still awake. She sat up slightly, her small, brittle arms pushing her body up as she smiled weakly at her, "Hello, Dr. Grey."

"How's it going, how are you feeling?"

"Good, is Dr. Robbins with you?"

"No, I think she went home for the day," Meredith smiled, "did the nurses take good care of you?"

"Yeah, they're nice."

"So I heard you have a twin sister, is that right?"

"Yeah," she laughed a little, "she should be coming any second now."

"That's awesome, who's older?"

"I am."

"By how much?"

"Two minutes."

"Wow, that's fast. Are you girls close?"

"I would say so," she nodded, "we both have the same interests in music, movies, careers, guys, and school. 16 years with the same person and I can't imagine not being with her now."

"Do you girls have the same friends?"

"Yeah, at school we have the same friend groups."

"Have you played any tricks on the teachers? Like switch seats or cheat on Twin Day at school or something?"

"Actually yeah." she chuckled, "for a weak in my pre-algebra class and another time in my P.E. class."

Meredith laughed, listening to Angela recount the story animatedly. It was nice to see her active a little, not just some pale, limp figure lying in the bed.

"Ang?"

Angela looked over Meredith's shoulder and smiled lightly, "Oh, hey, Nance. This is Dr. Grey, she's my surg-"

"I'm just helping out Dr. Robbins," Meredith concluded quickly.

She was slightly shocked. The girl standing in front of her was a stronger, fuller Angela with ten times more vitality than pale, frail, real Angela, "Dr. Grey, good to meet you, I was just chatting with you sister."

"Hi," Nancy extended her hand then side-stepped Meredith and stood by her sister's bedside. It was interesting to see both forms of Angela, a healthy and happy one and a sick, weak one. Her heart tore a bit, and she immediately regretted it. She couldn't get too attached to her patients, that never ended well.

 _Once you do the surgery, she'll be fine, it's okay._

She let the two girls alone to chat and quietly walked out. Meredith thought she saw Angela give her an urgent look before she stepped out.

"Joe, I'll take whatever's on the tap," Meredith sighed as she flopped her purse onto the counter. Immediately, her mood lifted with the smile she received from her husband.

Derek looked handsome as always, wearing a navy blue sweater and his arms crossed with a half empty bottle of beer next to him. "Hey," he smiled warmly at her.

"Hey," she responded, a bit out of breath, "gosh, sorry I'm late."

"Oh no problem, Joe was recounting a riveting story of how foreign beer revenue destroys its production and promotes domestic beer."

"Wow, I didn't mean to interrupt such a gripping conversation," she smirked, "how was your day, I barely saw you."

"I know," he huffed, taking a swig, "two aneurysm repairs, one tumor removal."

Meredith narrowed her eyes, "The patient didn't make it."

Derek paused his hand mid-air as he was about to bring the bottle to his lips again. He sighed after a moment and set it back down, running a hand through his black hair, "Yeah," he said in a raspy voice, "He didn't make it. 22 years old and had a tumor on his frontal lobe."

"I'm sorry," Meredith put a hand on his shoulder. Of all the years she had been seeing him, Meredith knew that Derek cared for each of his patients on a personal level. He took the time to get to know them and befriended them. Meredith learned it was easier to stay detached, but it just wasn't in Derek's nature to do that.

"It's fine," he cleared his throat, "but what about you?" he changed the subject quickly, his tone lifting slightly.

"Arizona asked for a consult today," she thanked Joe as he set her drink down, "gastric cancer, 16 year old with a twin."

"That should be interesting, you and Robbins haven't worked together in a while."

"Hmm, you're right," she nodded, "should be a simple snip and stitch. Tumor is in the lining."

"When's the surgery?"

"Two days from now, but get this. The family doesn't want her twin sister to know she has cancer."

"So? Maybe the just don't want to worry her."

"No, no, they're twins! Angela said her and Nancy were pretty close, nothing can be kept between them. I feel like there's something else."

"Either that or you've been reading too many Agatha Christie novels recently."

"Okay, okay," she grinned as he laughed, "you laugh now, Shepherd, but you'll see, there's some family secret I'll uncover and then I'll be the one laughing."

"Whatever you say, Sherlock," his warm laughter filled the bar as she playfully hit his shoulder.

They went home, arm in arm. She kissed Zola good night and cuddled up next to her husband in bed. As she felt herself drifting, her eyes traveled up to the post-it note above the headboard and she slept smiling.

 **I don't own any Grey's Anatomy characters or material.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you guys like chapter 2! Leave me a fav/follow/review!**

The next morning, Meredith got a page from Arizona and she walked to Angela's room. There were a few adults in there now: a tall woman with dark hair, a man with greying brown hair, and a petite woman with chestnut colored hair. Nancy, Angela's twin, was sitting by her sister's bed and scrolling through photos on her phone. Dr. Robbins was in a hushed huddle with the three adults and she smiled as Dr. Grey entered the room.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Grey, Angela's general surgeon," she extended her hand. The man took it, and the petite woman looked over at the girls solicitously.

"Mr. McDean," the man spoke, "Angela and Nancys' father, this is my wife."

The petite woman stepped forward, "Hi, Dr. Grey, please call me Susanne."

"I'm the girls' aunt, Susanne's sister," the tall woman with the dark hair smiled, "Tammy."

"Dr. Grey here is an excellent surgeon," Arizona nodded approvingly.

"Just a moment," Mr. McDean stepped aside, "Nancy, honey?"

"Yeah?" she broke off conversation with her twin and looked at her father.

"Here's some money, why don't you go and bring us all up some snacks, is that okay?"

"Sure," she walked over and took the money from her dad. As she was about to leave she called to her sister, "Text me what you want."

"Will do," Angela smiled meekly.

"Angela, dear, are you hungry?" her mom asked hopefully.

She shook her head weakly. It seemed like she was just keeping a front up for her sister.

Meredith narrowed her eyes. Why did they want to keep Angela's condition a secret from Nancy? She'd have to find out on her own.

"Angela's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow," Meredith continued, "the scans showed a rather large tumor in the stomach lining. I'll remove it and we should be good to go."

"Is it a simple surgery?" Tammy asked, "What are the risks?"

"The surgery itself isn't simple, but the tumor seems big enough to remove, but not too big to make it extremely difficult. Of course, in surgery there are always risks, but I've done many excisions before. She should be fine."

"Oh, thank heavens," Susanne put a hand over her heart and sighed.

Arizona had a warning glance in her eyes and she intervened, "I don't think we're out of the woods yet, Mrs. McDean," she looked at Angela who was listening intently and lowered her voice, "Angela is in a serious condition, the risks are significant."

"Are you doubting Dr. Grey's abilities?" Mr. McDean's tone hardened, "She is the general surgeon after all and assured us that our daughter will be fine."

Arizona met his gaze and held it for a few moments before looking down, "No, of course, I believe in her. She's an excellent surgeon, but I just want to make sure that we consider the profound risks involved."

"Then I'm sure Dr. Grey will keep us well informed."

Meredith felt the high tension in the room and smiled forcefully, "I'm scheduled for another surgery, but if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask me _or_ Dr. Robbins."

They all said thank you and shook her hand and she walked out back to her wing.

"Arizona!" Meredith saw the blonde pediatric surgeon looking at patient charts at the nurse's table.

She looked up and gave a small smile as Meredith approach.

"Hey, Meredith."

"Hey," she caught her breath, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened in there, I didn't think it would escalate like that."

"No, no, it's fine," she blew it off nonchalantly, "when you work in peds, parents of the patients are your biggest obstacle."

"But what's this secret they're hiding from Nancy?"

She pursed her lips, "I don't know, I didn't ask. Most likely to protect her."

"But it's her twin," Meredith pressed, "how could you keep something like that from her?"

"I couldn't say. Their birthday is in a few days, so maybe they're keeping it until then."

"Maybe," she still wasn't satisfied, "let me know how she's doing later today, I'll choose a resident to scrub in."

"Awesome, will do!"

Meredith walked away, still pondering.

She met up with Christina in the locker room. It was the end of the day and after a lot of patients and long hours, she was packing up her things. Her best friend was there, listening to her.

"Who are you gonna choose?" Christina asked.

"I don't know, it's a relatively easy surgery. Should be in and out, could be a good learning experience for Ross."

"Ross? No, he's a machine, that kid. He's mine," Christina smiled triumphantly, "try Mousey."

"Brooks? Do you think she can handle it?"

"If not, at least we'll weed her out."

"We _are_ a teaching hospital," she raised an amused brow.

"Call this a learning experience."

"Hm, that's actually a good idea. I'll let her know."

"She's on my call today, I'll tell her."

"You don't mind me borrowing her tomorrow?"

"Are you kidding? Take her."

"Thanks!" she smiled and closed her locker, "Hey, I was meaning to ask...is it just me or has Robbins been doubting me recently?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, it's like she thinks I'm going to mess up the surgery or something."

"It's Robbins, she works with kids. Even worse, she works with parents, that's a nightmare. I wouldn't look too much into it."

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see ya, Mer."

"Bye," she waved as she walked out of the locker room and bid her friend farewell.

 _Beep, beep, beep!_

"Wha-?" Meredith opened her sleepy eyelids. Her pager was relentlessly buzzing from her nightstand. She groaned and flopped her face back in the pillow. _Please, not now._

"Honey," Derek moaned through the covers, "your pager."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, hauling herself out of bed and stumbling through the room to the nightstand. The clock read 2:45 AM. Her bleary vision just happened to make distinguish the signal "EMERGENCY" from her pager. It was from Arizona Robbins.

She gasped and threw it on the nightstand with a clatter. Derek bolted upright in the bed, spooked.

"What? Are you all right?" he searched through the dark room.

"Yeah, emergency call from the hospital," she shrugged on her scrubs, "go back to sleep."

"Do you need help?"

"No, no. Nothing neuro. Just a patient we're assigned."

"Oh, the twin."

"Yeah," she opened the door, shouldering her purse, "I'll be back soon," she blew her husband a kiss and he flopped back on the bed, asleep.

"What happened, talk to me," Meredith sped through the halls, running to meet Arizona in Angela's room. Mousey was right behind her-or Brooks. She had to stop listening to Christina's little pet names. The resident was carrying Angela's file in her hand as Meredith shouldered her coat on.

"Appears she suffered a bleed not long ago. She complained of lethargy, abdominal pain, and shortness of breath. Nurses gave her more oxygen, but when they went to change the sheets, there was bloody urine and stool."

"Big bleed?"

Brooks' face was grim and she showed Dr. Grey the photos.

"Damn it," she swore under her breath and jogged the rest of the distance.

"There you are!" Arizona met her, relieved, "Angela seems to have had-"

"A bleed, I know. Where is she?"

"I just finished the surgery to patch it up," Arizona untied her scrub cap tiredly. She probably rushed to the hospital after an emergency call as well.

"How are we looking for tomorrow?"

Arizona shook her head sadly, "It can't happen. She's too weak and the area is too tender. I'd give it a few more days."

Meredith seethed inwardly, not at Arizona, but at the whole situation. She wanted this little 16 year old girl to be able to live her life and be with her sister and family and now the world was turning against her.

"Okay, let me know when she's back in the room, I'll follow with post-op," she concluded, sighing deeply.

"Got it," Arizona nodded before being pulled away by some other nurses.

"Find me Webber," Meredith looked at Brooks, "quick as you can."

The resident nodded vehemently and sped off.

"Meredith!" she turned around to see Christina heading her way. She looked down at her watch, it was 3:18 AM.

"Christina? What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, you know me, just wanted to help out the residents," she mused sardonically, "yeah, over my dead body. I was helping Bailey out with a few patients."

Meredith nodded distractedly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just a patient. Surgery I was scheduled for is postponed now. Gastrointestinal bleed."

"Oof," her best friend shrugged, "it's okay, you'll fit her in. Meanwhile, Owen's up my ass trying to get me to take a look at a patient."

"You don't want to take it?"

"Are you kidding? Hell yeah, I do," she winked, "but a girl's gotta play hard to get, Mer."

She smiled, but not with her usual gusto, "Yeah, well go get 'em."

"Will do, see ya," she waved.

"Grey!"

She instantly recognized Richard's voice from down the hall and she stopped to wait for him.

"Brooks told me to come find you," he walked in step with her, "what's the problem?"

"Arizona and I have a patient named Angela, you've operated on her in the past, and her gastric cancer returned after being in remission for three years. Her surgery was scheduled for today, but she developed a bleed last night. Robbins patched her up, but I wanted your consult of when I should conduct the surgery?"

"You mean _if_ you should conduct the surgery."

"What?"

"How old is the patient?"

"16."

"That's cutting it a little close, Meredith, you know better."

"Why does everyone keep thinking I can't do it!" she stopped abruptly and faced him, her temper flaring. A few orderlies looked at her in shock.

"It's not you, it's her," Webber's tone was even, "how are her vitals?"

"A little low."

"I wouldn't risk it if I were you. That girl's tumor is not as important as keeping her healthy."

"But you aren't me," she narrowed her eyes, "and she'll never be healthy with the tumor inside her. I want to see her run, jump, date, grow up, shop, and be with her sister, not bed ridden for long months, in and out of hospitals. That's a miserable experience."

Webber's face darkened, "You do what you want, Meredith, as long as you think you can do it. That girl's life is in your hands. Don't forget to consult with Robbins, this is case is _both_ of yours."

"Fine, yes, I know," she started to turn to walk away, "thank you, Richard."

He dipped his head in return and walked the other way.

Meredith whipped her phone from her pocket. She finally had a little alone time and was sitting in the cafeteria eating by herself. She never really texted but knew Robbins was in surgery, one of the scrub nurses would read her message.

 _Arizona,_ she texted, _what x should I reschedule Angela's surgery?_

It wasn't a few minutes later she got a reply: _In surgery. Talk later?_

She puffed a breath of slight annoyance, but conceded: _Sure thing._

Meredith stuck her phone back in her pocket and was picking at her food when across the hall she saw Nancy.

"Hey, Nancy!" she called. Angela's twin turned her way and she motioned for her to come over.

"Dr. Grey," she smiled.

"Hey, why don't you take a seat?"

She shrugged and pulled out the chair. Gosh, teenagers were so easy.

"How's everything going?" Meredith prompted.

"It's fine, mom and dad are panicking, but their parents so I can't blame them. Angela and I will find out one day."

"Panicking about…?"

"Just the usual. Angela has to go see a doctor every few months to a year and they always freak. I think now just a bit more than usual because our birthday is coming up."

 _She still doesn't know._ Meredith had to fight the urge to tell her.

"Birthday?" she said instead, "that's exciting, what are your plans?"

"Whatever Ang wants," she fiddled with her chips bag, "maybe keep it more low key this year and just do dinner with the family, you know hospital bills and all."

"Let your parents worry about that," Meredith smiled coyly, trying to get her excited, "you don't turn 17 every day!"

"True," she laughed, "it's in 4 days, so we have time to figure it out."

"Good, well just let me know and maybe I can get some of the nurses to bring some ice cream for you guys."

"Sweet," she smiled, "well, I'm gonna get going. Bye, Dr. Grey."

"Bye, Nancy," she waved.

"Angela?" Meredith rapped on the door. In bed, the girl turned her head weakly her way. Her mother was sitting inside, setting up the chair as a makeshift bed to sleep on for the night.

"Dr. Grey," Susanne answered instead.

"I just wanted to see how we were doing?" she approached the bed, "I heard it was a rough night last night with the bleed."

"Yes," her mother paled, "Dr. Robbins performed the surgery. We asked for you, but she was the only one available."

"I came as soon as I got the call," she smiled tersely, "but rest assured, Dr. Robbins is an amazing surgeon. She can handle herself very well."

"Mom?" Angela suddenly called from the bed.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can you please go find me some ice chips?"

"Sure thing, honey, I'll be right back," Susanna exited obediently.

"So, how are you doing-"

"Fine," she cut her off. Her face was filled with a sense of urgency, "please, I've got to tell you something, before she comes back."

"Excuse me?"

"Come here," she motioned for Meredith to come in closer.

She warily obeyed.

"Listen, my birthday is coming up in a few days," she spoke quickly, her panicked eyes darting to the door in case her mother returned, "and Nancy and my parents have this idea that they want to take me out that day and bring me home, but Dr. Grey there's only one thing I want-"

"Take you home?" Meredith asked, shocked, "absolutely not, they do know the severity of your condition, right?"

"Everyone but Nance," her voice broke, "Dr. Grey, I don't think I can do this anymore. It's been three years, I can't take it."

"It's okay, Angela, I'll be able to help. Once I do the surgery and remove the tumor then-"

"Then another one will pop up a few years later!" she sighed, exasperated, "no more hospitals, no more surgeries, no more doctors."

"Angela, I can't control that-"

"Yes, you can. Please, Dr. Grey, for my birthday my sister wants to get me some new cellphone or something, but I can't see her like this anymore. Day in and day out, she sits at my bedside, her eyes flooded with pity because she gets to sit there healthy and I'm confined to this stupid bed. You know how shameful I feel? I want this to be her birthday gift from me...Dr. Grey, I want you to let me die."


	3. Chapter 3

**Next chapter! Leave me a fav/follow/review please!**

"She said what?" Derek's jaw dropped.

"I know," Meredith wiped her forehead.

"That's ridiculous, I mean, how can she ask of such a thing from you!?"

"Well, I don't know…"

Derek stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his wife, "You do think it's ridiculous, right?"

"It-it may not sound so outlandish to me."

He blinked a few times.

"It's just, I can see her side of the argument, that's all."

"Meredith," he said in a soft voice, "it's just-can you even-is it legal?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm not going to do it, Derek. I took an oath, but I just don't see a complete wrong in her decision."

He nodded solemnly, "I get it, I don't see it as _completely_ heartless. She's doing it for her sister, that's what matters."

"Yeah," Meredith nodded, folding into her husband's embrace as he hugged her tight.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered into her hair then pulled her back to look at her, "and I love you."

"Love you too," she smiled.

"What?" Christina's eyes widened and she had a shocked smile on her face.

"I know!" Meredith threw her hands up in the air.

"She said that? That 16 year old girl actually asked you?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"Not do it, obviously."

Christina shrugged.

"What?" Meredith narrowed her eyes, "Would you?"

"Maybe," Christina bit her cheek, "look, I mean, her situation sucks, Mer. She's been hospice for years now as her sister lives the dream life. And vice versa, her sister probably hates seeing her confined to that bed while she walks away healthy everyday."

"But to just ask me to deliver that like its some simple request? We're talking about her life!"

"And she's old enough to decide what she can do with it."

"Not legally."

"Come on, Mer, you know girls mature earlier than guys."

"That's not the case, Christina," Meredith blew the hair out of her face, "I see it from both sides, and I get what she wants, but I feel as if she doesn't understand the severity of her decision."

"Meredith, this might seem worse than death to her. I mean, she'll never get these years back and she'll probably be checked back in in a few months anyway."

"I guess…"

"Look, it's your decision, Meredith," Christina trashed her empty coffee cup as she got ready to get back to work, "but I've said my piece."

"Okay," she smiled goodbye to her best friend, "thank you."

"Good luck."

"Arizona," Meredith approached her partner on Angela's case, "can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," she smiled, following.

"After careful consideration," she began, "I've decided to proceed with Angela's excision. I've talked to Bailey and scheduled it for Thursday."

"Thursday?" Arizona gawked, "Meredith, that's two days away!"

"Exactly," she nodded firmly.

"That's-that's too soon, too unsafe, Meredith!"

"I'm the general surgeon on this case, Arizona, I can handle it and I know what I'm doing."

"I don't doubt that you do," Arizona wrung her hands together, "it's just….never mind."

"Good," Meredth nodded once, "I'll see you then."

She left Arizona staring in the hallway, alone, as she walked out.

"Big surgery is today, huh?" Derek smiled at her as she poured her coffee into a to go mug.

"Yeah," she took an excited breath, "the big day."

"You'll kill it," he kissed her one the cheek then stepped back, smiling, "not literally, though."

"Of course not," she smirked, "I still marvel at how she could ask her doctor such a question?"

"Tell me about it," Derek puffed out a heavy breath, "so, you've come to a decision?"

"Definitely," Meredith nodded surely.

"Great!" he smiled, "I'll drive, give you a little break before the big surgery."

She rolled her eyes playfully at him and packed her purse. The last two days she had been studying Angela's scans, files, vitals, and upcoming surgery with a vehemence. She would do it, take the tumor out, and put all the doubts to bed. She was tired of people questioning her and her surgical skills, enough was enough.

Her heart pumped with adrenaline and she walked to the car with her husband. He held her bag and popped them in the trunk as he took the wheel.

Brooks was ready as well, waiting by the OR to scrub in with Dr. Grey. Arizona informed her that Angela was being prepared for surgery. Robbins had kept an amicable distance from Meredith since their last confrontation. Angela's life was completely in her hands.

She had been through the process twenty times in her head and knew exactly what to do. She'd make an incision, cut the tumor out, and stitch up. Nice and easy.

Arizona looked over to her warily.

"Brooks," Meredith nodded to her resident, "glove up."

She nodded excitedly and ran off.

Through the door, came Alex.

"Meredith," he smiled, "how's it going?"

"Alex?" she looked at him in shock, "what're you doing here?"

"Scrubbing in for the surgery."

"Whose?"

"Yours and Arizona's," he spoke slowly and laughed a little, "you okay?"

"Yes, yeah," she stuttered, "it's just, who said you could scrub in?"

Before he could answer, another voice spoke up for him, "I did." Arizona approached them, "I hope you don't mind," she gave Meredith a careful look, "Dr. Karev is amazing with kids, I thought he might help Angela and her sister."

"Not at all," Meredith held her head high, "of course, Alex, you're always welcome."

He looked back and forth between the two women and could feel the tension, "Is everything okay?"

"Fine."

"Great."

"Cool," he nodded, "this is gonna be so fun," he muttered to himself sardonically.

Brooks came back by her side, "Dr. Grey, are you going to scrub in?"

"Yeah, in a moment," she continued to stare down Arizona who leveled her with an equally fierce gaze, "I'm just going to go have a quick word with the patient. Brooks, why don't you show Dr. Robbins inside."

Brooks looked from Meredith to Arizona fearfully before stammering, "Um, in-in here, Dr. Robbins."

Arizona wordlessly tied her scrub cap on her head and followed Brooks inside, eyes never leaving Meredith.

Meredith sighed irritatedly and walked out into the hallway just as Angela was being wheeled in on the gurney. She looked even paler than before, her body taking on a grey tint, and her gown hung loosely on her sickly frame.

"Dr. Grey," she perked a bit, but her eyes seemed to have a glaze over them, like she was disconnected. Her raspy voice made Meredith's heart break inside. Once she took the tumor out, it would quit attacking her so profoundly.

"Angela," she nodded. Meredith hadn't visited the girl since her request a few days ago and what a difference in her complexion.

"Did," she looked around her and lowered her voice, "did you think about what I said?"

She nodded tersely.

"And?"

Meredith gave a small, curt shake of her head.

She saw Angela's chest heave up and down in a panic.

Coming up behind the doctors, was Nancy.

"Hey, Nancy," Meredith smiled.

"Hi, Dr. Grey," she looked down at her sister, "hey, Ang."

Her sister looked straight ahead in a daze, eyes wide with fright.

"Well, what a treat! Both of you are here," she smiled, trying to divert Nancy's attention. "come to wish your sister good luck?"

Nancy nodded, "Yup, she'll do great. I know it."

"I'll make sure of it," Meredith rubbed her shoulder.

"Dr. Grey?" Brooks poked her head out the door, prompting her to enter and start the surgery.

"Time to head inside," she looked at Nancy, "I'll give you two a minute."

She stepped a little to the side and let Nancy lean in to her sister. Snippets of the conversation, made it to her ears.

"It's gonna be fine, when you finish I'll order Chinese."

"Yeah…"

"Listen, for our birthday, some girls from school wanted to come-"

"No, please, no."

"Oh-uh, okay, maybe think it over-"

"No, Nancy."

"Ang-"

"I said no, I don't like them, I never did."

"What do you mean? They've been your best friends since kindergarten!"

"No, they've been _you're_ best friends!"

"What the heck are you talking about? Jesus, why are you being so annoying about this?"

"Just go, Nancy."

"What?"

"I said just go!"

"Okay!" Meredith intervened, "Why don't we get you into the O.R.?" Meredith motioned for the confused doctors to push Angela through. Nancy glared at her sister and stalked off.

"Are you ready, Dr. Grey?"

Meredith opened her eyes, and she stared down at the unconscious Angela on the metal surgical table. She was wearing her blue surgical gown and gloved hands, her scrub was tightly secured on her head, and her goggles made her vision clear.

Brooks was staring at her as she just asked the question.

She nodded.

"Scalpel."

A scrub nurse placed the tool in her hand.

"And here we go…"

She descended with the scalpel and was ready to begin.

Derek rounded the corner into the OR gallery.

"Did she start? Did I miss it?"

"No," Christina shook her head, "she just started."

"Do you know?" Derek looked at her warily.

She nodded. If Meredith was going to tell anyone about Angela's death request, it was going to be to Derek _and_ Christina.

"Is she going to?" Derek asked.

"Heck no. She went on a 45 minute rant yesterday about how much she couldn't wait to get the surgery done with."

"Let's hope it goes okay," Derek scoped the inside of the OR, "wait, is that Karev in there?"

"Yeah," Yang rolled her eyes, "per Arizona's request."

"Why?"

"Her and Meredith had a bit of a disagreement, per say…look, she's gonna excise!"

Meredith finally got through the to the stomach lining and found the tumor.

"Oh, look at the size of that thing!" Christina marveled, then turned to Derek, "wait, are you here to observe or watch her?"

"What do you mean?" Derek shuffled his feet.

"You're here to make sure she doesn't do it."

"Of course not, I have every confidence that she can do it."

"Trust me," Yang smirked, "I tried to sway her opinion, but she's set in stone. She won't do it."

Meredith's narration echoed over the loudspeaker, "I can see the tumor, beginning to remove it. 10 blade."

"She's doing damn good," Christina smiled triumphantly.

"I can't believe that huge tumor is in that girl," Derek's jaw dropped, "I didn't realize how large that was!"

"She's cutting!"

Meredith cut around the tumor with perfect precision. It was the most beautiful cut any of them had every seen and Meredith smiled at herself.

"Nice job, Mer," Alex nodded, smiling.

Arizona even nodded, shoulders relaxing a little. She looked at Meredith who looked back and her eyes expressed apology.

"Alex?" Robbins cleared her throat, "I was wondering if you could go speak to Angela's parents? Let her know how she's doing."

"Sure," he nodded and started for the double doors, "you're doing great, Mer."

He exited.

"Okay," Meredith flexed her shoulders, "there's so many tiny blood vessels here, I've got to be careful not to hit."

Her face was a mask of dogged determination. Determination to keep Angela alive.

"Be careful, Dr. Grey," Brooks inputed, "the blood vessel, there," she pointed at a region.

"I've got it," Meredith growled.

She snipped slowly, carefully, precisely, and perfectly.

"You're almost there," Arizona smiled wide.

"Almost got it-"

The region suddenly filled with blood. It poured into the cavity and pooled around her hands.

"Bleed!" someone called.

Meredith immediately pulled her tool out and lay it back on the tray. Her gloves were dripping with blood and they stained the tissue. Her gloves hands pressed against the bleeding region.

"Find the bleed," she said with tense calmness, "we need to find the bleed!"

Arizona stepped forward quickly, her eyes widening, "Oh, gosh, oh, gosh…"

"Get back!" Meredith rebuked.

Robbins jumped back, hands in the air as if in surrender.

"Come on, come on," Meredith scolded herself, "where is it?"

Derek and Christina were on the edge of their seats.

The heart monitor was going crazy, the beeping ringing in Meredith's ears.

Time seemed to fly yet drone on at the same time. Meredith lost track of time. She remembered barking at Brooks to keep pressure as Angela's heart rate dropped exponentially. She surged forward and abandoned the tumor and gaping cavity in her stomach and pressed her bloody gloves against her chest, pumping up and down for CPR.

"Come on, Angela!" Meredith growled, her voice verging on desperation.

Voices were constantly screaming and yelling around her, but the general surgeon's eyes were constantly fixated on the monitor. But it wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder pull her away from the table and the words, "Meredith! Meredith, stop! It's over!" did she finally look up.

It was Derek.

He shed his white coat and was wearing a scrub cap and surgical mask.

She looked at herself, the blood stained her gown like she was in a horror movie, her cheeks streaming with tears she didn't know she spilled. She didn't feel like crying, just numb.

"No, no," she fought, shaking her head, "the patient," she turned back to Angela's body, "I can do this."

"Meredith, Meredith, stop," Derek grabbed her hands gently. Christina came running in right after, standing at the doorway watching the scene, "26 minutes. She's been down for 26 minutes."

Brooks was standing in the corner, head down, Arizona was standing over the patient, slowly undoing the wrappings, and the scrub nurses were looking at her in confused shock.

"She's not," Meredith shook her head, "she can't be. I can do this, it was a simple surgery, I could do it-"

"The bleed," Christina stepped forward, "Mer, there were hundreds of little blood vessels, but you might've pierced a major one. She bled out in minutes."

The news sunk into her skin and it seemed to age her ten years. Her limbs weighed down heavily and a deep breath left her.

"You guys get her out of here," Arizona shook her head disappointedly, "I'll clean up."

A sudden rage filled Meredith and she turned on Arizona, "No! You don't get to look at me like that! I did everything I could and I did a perfect incision and you don't get to give me little shakes of your head, okay?! I did what I had to do, and I did everything I could!"

Derek gingerly pulled Meredith out the door, she was still raving at Arizona who looked at her like she was a maniac. She was out the door, but her yelling could still be heard down the hall.

Arizona scoffed.

Now, it was Christina's turn.

"What are you upset for?"

"Look at her!" Robbins gestured to a pale, ashen faced Angela on the table, "Look! There's a gaping hole in her abdomen and she's only 16! She's too young, I thought Meredith could do this and I knew, I told myself not to let her do it!"

"Shut up," Christina's voice was firm, "Meredith is a damn good surgeon, and if you can't see that, then you lose a hell of a privilege of working with her.

Christina stalked out of the room, leaving the OR and the gory mess along with it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Final chapter! Hope you guys like the end! Leave me a fav/follow/review!**

Meredith turned and walked down the hall as she heard anguished cries come from the room she just exited. She just broke the news to Angela's parents.

 _"_ _I'm so sorry, we did everything we could, Dr. Robbins and myself, and unfortunately Angela suffered a massive bleed on the table. The stress on her body resulted in her going into cardiac arrest and our team wasn't able to revive her. I'm so sorry for your loss."_

Derek was in there now, he offered to cool the family down but their painful cries of grief moaned through the whole hallways. It wrapped around her head and stuck in her ears as she tried to pace down the hall as fast as possible. Derek was with the family, Arizona was with Angela's body, but nobody was with Nancy.

And she was coming down the hallway.

"Dr. Grey!" she smiled, running towards her, "Is Angela out yet-"

Her expression changed from one of glee to one of confusion when she saw the blood staining her gloves and gown then one of horror when the sad cries from Angela's room echoed down the hall.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head, face pale, eyes panicked, "no!"

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked straight ahead, like someone sucked the life out of her. Meredith's heart broke even more, but she kept a stony face and walked right past, as if Nancy didn't exist, as if she was some invisible statue parked in the middle of the hallway. Her twin was dead and the last words she ever said to her were ones of anger. Now she'd never see her again and the guilt of that probably would remain inside her for the rest of her life.

She turned the corner and would never see or hear from them again.

Brooks was in the OR helping to clean the massive amount of blood spillage on the floor. She was so excited for this surgery then all of a sudden things went bad. Blood, there was just so much blood coming out of the vessel and then the monitor went haywire and within a few minutes, she was dead. A combination of blood loss and cardiac arrest.

But it just seemed so sudden and so unexpected.

Dr. Grey's start to the surgery was the definition of absolute perfection. The way she cut around the tumor so precisely and then-boom. It was done.

She watched every move of the blade, and even though there were tons of blood vessels surrounding the area, Dr. Grey was careful and concise.

Brooks exited the OR and went down to the morgue. She asked the coroner to see Angela's body and she was lucky enough to observe before the autopsy. He unlatched the box and pulled out the slab. He unfolded the sheet and there she was: 16 years old, grey, and dead.

The coroner left her alone with the body and Brooks pulled the blanket down even more. Since the autopsy wasn't conducted, she called the coroner over after a few minutes to see if she could observe. He slapped gloves on his wrist and began the process. Brooks had seen many autopsies before and he finally the coroner got to the abdomen area. He unfolded the skin flap and Brooks peered inside. With gloved hands she examined the stomach lining and there were the perfect incision marks by Dr. Grey. She remembered Arizona patching something up to the right...

There it was. A punctured blood vessel. But, wait…not punctured. She looked closer and noticed the vessel was cut, almost perfectly. _That's strange, Dr. Grey was the last person with tools to approach the body. Dr. Robbins just closed her up, she didn't operate._ It was almost as if someone clipped it, with scissors...

Deliberately.

 **The End.**


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